help with 5 week old - awful napping

[kitkey]

Hi - i have just started EASY with my 5 and a half week old DS.  I'm having 2 main problems
1. He is very needy and doesn't like to be put down at all so most of his awake time is spent in a sling where he is happy - sometimes he falls asleep but i try to stop this at home.
2. He is an awful napper - i hold and pat him until he is nearly asleep the put him in crib and pat until asleep.  I walk away then 10 mins later he crys out - i go to him and eyes are wide open - i resettle with patting and often have to do this for the whole 1.5hrs nap then give up knowing he hasn't had much sleep as have constantly resettled him. I have an 18mth old so this is not very convenient.  I let him have 1 hour awake time - is this too little - he seems ratty and tired after 1 hr awake.  He is EBF - 3 hrly

Aim of EASY routine is

6- E
7 - S

9 - E
10- S

12- E
1 - S

3 -E
4 -S

5 - E
6- S

8 - bedtime wash, change and E

10 -E
1-E
4-E

I am struggling with the 2 children and am failing with easy -any advice please.

Many Thanks

[nbdarling]

hi there
i am not an expert at all but i kinda went through this with my son a few weeks ago.
here is what helped me.
sleep issue:
1. consistent wind down routine. i do the same thing for everynap,everynight, everyday for  the last month.  at this point now once i swaddle he knows what time it is. i even coached my husband to do exactly as i do. 
quiet room, dim room, swaddle, little lullaby, hold for no more than 5 minutes, lay in crib with hand on chest until he drifts off.  this strated as a 20 min process now it sometimes takes 5 minutes!

2. swaddle you mentioned that after 10 min he cries again. this could be cuz he is waking up with his sleep jolts... my ds did that too.

3. dark room  that way he can not be stimulized by anything.

4. put the time in now to help him learn to fall asleep.  i really invested a lot of time shhing/patting, sitting closed up in a dark room helping him to pass from one sleep cycle to the next, i know its hard with all the other things we have to do but it will pay off in a few weeks when you are able to just dim,swaddle,sing,sleep him.

also from the looks of the easy scedule you posted his days are really long. i think you should try and make his days shorter. like 6-6 or 7-7 if possible. no more than a twelve hour day

needy issue:
i think some babies are just like this. he is really little still and still adjusting to life not in your nice warm womb where he could here you heart all day long. maybe you could try to slowly wean him out of the sling by decressing time he spends in it everyday. try to find him some other chair, baby gym mat thingy that can be put close to you but not on you. i never really had this issue, i was the needy cuddler in my baby- mommy relationship hopefully someone will post a reply for this for you.

and last but not least you are not failing. you just started this routine and it does not happen over night. you are doing the best thing for your ds by giving him a predictable  routine that will make him feel safe and loved and help him learn the most important thing SLEEP.
i hope this helps you a little.

oo-nicole